Construction Claim: Prevention And Resolution

Construction Claim: Prevention and ResolutionThe construction industry is a foundation for all of the National economic sectors of any country by constructing and providing basic infrastructures such as roads, dams, highways, harbor structures, refineries, power plants, bridges, schools, offices, etc.Construction claim is an inevitable feature of major construction projects that will have to be dealt with on the majority of contracts let. It occurs frequently in the construction process. The resulting litigation wastefully consumes important resources like time, money, and especially project-engineering talent, which in turn accelerate the socio-economic problems of a given country. Many contract disputes could be avoided if the disputing parties took fast action and were better informed.In this study, the owner and architect-engineer's roles in the prevention and resolution of construction claims have thoroughly been examined. Recognition of causes of construction claims and finding of an appropriate prevention and resolution techniques are very crucial in this respect and have been examined deeply. Furthermore, this paper has drawn some important conclusions for future works based on the situations discussed.The solution for all problems, which were arising during the construction process, has fully fallen upon the construction players. It is a cornerstone for the contracting parties to undertake good contracting practices and well-defined project management exercises during the construction process. An equitable and carefully written unambiguous construction contract documents, which fully describe the rights and responsibilities of all contracting parties including necessary procedures for addressing claims, is really invaluable in prevention and resolution of claims. Claims can further be mitigated substantially if plans and specifications are thoroughly checked and revised before starting of construction. Choosing of the right construction methods (project delivery systems), selection of contracting methods (payments) and selection of contractors have an equal importance in avoiding of claims during the project construction life which have strongly been stressed in this thesis.Project owners can able to recognize warning signs of a potential claims, and volunteer to stretch their hands for cooperation and to work as a team with the contractors, without any consequences creates high chances that the project will be completed successfully with the required quality, on time, within budget and without excessive expense and lengthy arbitration and litigation-in the courtroom. In this respect, project partnering has got a paramount significance at reversing the negative effects of adversarial relationships between the contracting parties in the construction process for which the owners and architect-engineers (A/Es) should take the initiatives accordingly.Besides, in case of disagreements, the owners and A/Es should keep all the pertinent and relevant records along with the contractors, which will settle the matters later.This paper has also given a brief overview of the types of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods that should be recognized and understood by the project owners and A/Es, which will help them to settle the differences that have been occurred or will arise during the construction process. Finally, some important conclusions are drawn based on the facts that have been obtained during the identification of the problems areas.